Younger Years
by WrenchWielder
Summary: After a mild stumble in the shared science labs, the Ark acquires a first frame sparkling. At least it wasn't Wheeljack's fault! ...not directly his fault anyways...
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So, I really, really, really, really, really wanted to read a fic about sparkling Skyfire. I only found three that even mentioned him and none were really what I was looking for. For a while I was kinda like, darn, I wish someone would write that; and eventually decided to take my own crack at it.**

 **I don't own Transformers (and every last one of you should be thankful for that) nor will I own Transformers. I'm not going to repeat the disclaimer again for this story because I'm going to assume you all have common sense and will choose to exercise it.**

 **On with the Story!**

It was two am local time and the halls were empty as Skyfire walked towards the science wing. Most of the 'bots here on Earth had adjusted to the native timetable; as a result spending the local nights in recharge.

Skyfire had just gotten back from an off world mission and while according to Cybertronian standards it hadn't been that long, it had been to Earth standards. Which is what the Aerialbots measured time with. They had been thoroughly displeased when they had learned that their adoptive caretaker was leaving and had made him promise to comeback with something for each of them. Even if it was only pictures and stories.

Knowing that once the sparklings learned he was back he was going to have five clingy fliers for quite some time, he decided to drop his samples and such off in the lab first and then make for their shared hanger.

The lab was surprisingly empty. Skyfire could see various projects strewn across pretty much every surface with the exception of his single, admittedly large, table towards the back. Spending most of his time in the field, he didn't need nearly as much space as the others did. There was a single device on a table that was blinking, but other than that all was still and quiet.

The samples and notes he'd collected were neatly but quickly laid out on his table. Excited to see his adoptive sparklings again, Skyfire accidentally bumped the table that held the blinking object on his way out. There was barely enough time to register the light flaring before his world went dark.

XoXoXoX

Ratchet was in a bad mood. Actually, no. Ratchet was in a _very_ bad mood. He just knew something bad was going to happen, but he couldn't figure out what. He had the brief image of Sideswipe saying his 'medic senses were tingling' and had the urge to throw a wrench at him. But no, the twins had already done their stupid for the orn and were spending a full three joors on punishment detail. That also meant it wasn't a prank from them. The Dinobots were behaving themselves. Even the Aerialbots were on their best behavior, being careful not to give anyone any reason to have them on punishment detail when Skyfire got back.

The relations with the humans were going well. Prowl _and_ Perceptor had been refueling and recharging lately without being dragged out of their respective lab or office. The Decepticons had been quiet, but not so much as to worry anyone.

Even Wheeljack's latest project was not only going well, but shouldn't have adverse effects if it were to go off. Ratchet didn't know all the details, nor did he want to, but from what he understood if it did go off it would simply revert any nearby bots to sparklinghood. Meaning that all memories and any gained coding would be repressed or locked away while the basic protocols they onlined with would take prevalence. Time consuming to fix, yes. Not a hard problem to fix though.

Everything was going far too well and any second now he would get a com that someone was horribly maimed and that-

::Hey Ratch?:: Wheeljack, of course. Ratchet was out the door in an instant. He had already gathered a good amount of tools in subspace, just knowing that something bad was going to happen.

::I didn't hear an explosion, what happened?::

::Well… You see, um, do you think you could come down to the lab for a few kliks?:: Wheeljack sounded nervous, but not like there was an emergency. Ratchet slowed his pace a little. His invention had probably gone off while Perceptor was in the lab and Wheeljack was nervous Ratchet would be upset with him.

::On my way.:: By the time Ratchet made it to the lab he had convinced himself of this and had slowed to a brisk walk. Upon entering he was greeted with the sight of Perceptor, on his hands and knees, half under the very large set of cabinets in the back corner, whispering encouragement and reassurances. Wheeljack was crouched down a little ways away.

"What are you doing?" Ratchet got two very different responses to that. Preceptor absolutely froze while Wheeljack shot up, whipping around to face him.

"Ratchet, you're here! That's good because, um…" Wheeljack was babbling. Though, unless Perceptor had come online with a very strange set of original coding, it didn't seem to be Perceptor that he was nervous about. "Fun fact; Ironhide wasn't the oldest mech on the Arc." Ratchet's processor stalled at that. _Wasn't._ As in, didn't used to be but now is.

Ironhide had been onlined around when resources were just getting scarce enough that laws were being passed against onlining new sparks via progressive frames. You'd have to find someone closer to Kup's age to find mechs that started in a first frame; but anyone older than Ironhide would have most likely gone through at least a second frame before a final.

Ratchet pushed passed Wheeljack, dropping down to peer under the cabinet. There, huddled and trembling pitifully in the corner, was a _first frame winglet._ Who… Skyfire, of course. Skyfire had been an adult mech nine million years ago when he'd been buried in the arctic. He didn't act it because of all the time spent in stasis, but Skyfire was probably a good amount older than even Kup.

"He _had_ been coming out." Stated Perceptor. Ratchet rebooted his audios a few times. Perceptor sounded extremely annoyed with him.

"We scared him when we came in and he ran under the cabinet. Then claustrophobia kicked in and he wasn't able to get out again." Wheeljack sounded torn between nervousness and worry. Ratchet frowned. Turning to Perceptor he said,

"Obviously I'm not going to be much help here. See if you can get him out and down to the medbay." He slowly backed off till he was next to Wheeljack. Grabbing him by an audio fin Ratchet dragged him out of the lab. He was not explaining this to Prime alone.

XoXoXoX

It took a while to get Skyfire out from under the cabinet, but once he was he absolutely refused to let go of Perceptor. Not that this bothered him.

Perceptor doubted Skyfire remembered, but they had briefly met back on Cybertron. He had been sparked in a frame specifically made for a mech pursuing electrical engineering. As a newspark, mechs had seen all the modifications he had onlined with and assumed he was merely a new transfer. He hadn't been ready for them when he'd first onlined though and this had led to a lot of stress and many unpleasant situations for the first several vorns of his exsistance. One particularly bad day he had gotten lost. It was actually one of his most vivid early memory files.

 _He was standing in an unfamiliar hallway. He was late again, and he didn't have all the research he was supposed to. This was the final straw. Professor Photon was finally just going to give up on him._

 _As Perceptor looked out the window to his left and realized he'd somehow gotten several floors higher he could feel the block on his emotions crumble. He dropped to his knees as he struggled to maintain his tight hold against feeling any emotions. It must not have been a very often used corridor because he was able to sit undisturbed for quite some time. He actually didn't know how long he sat there before a pair of large white arms wrapped around him; picking him up and cradling him like one of those old first frames he wished he'd been sparked into._

" _Now what's a youngling with so many electrical engineering modifications doing in the xenobiology sector?" The voice was warm and kind and had immediately recognized that he was just a newspark floundering in a final frame. The block completely fell away and eight vorns of emotions came rushing to the surface. Part of him was extremely embarrassed with himself; keening in the arms of a stranger. The large white mech let him keen as long as he needed, not moving till he was done. Standing up the stranger said,_

" _Come on, Photon probably knows where you belong."_

" _No!" Perceptor immediately jerked, gripping the stranger's chest plates. "The next time I see him he's just going to get rid of me. He's going to transfer me away and I'm going to do even worse."_

" _Why?"_

" _I'm not good enough! I'm not even in the top ten of my batch of newsparks."_

" _Do you want to be here?" Percepter gaped at the mech._

" _Of course I do!"_

" _Do you want to continue in your field?"_

" _Yes!" The mech looked him straight in the optics._

" _Then don't worry about being_ the _best. You just need to be_ your _best. Mech's are going to notice if you truly do your best. And if that still doesn't work you come find me." He wanted to protest. How could_ his _best possibly ever be good enough if it wasn't_ the _best? But the mech, a flier, he now realized, began to walk in the direction he had just come from. Perceptor stared at the set of wings that extended behind the large mech._

" _You're a shuttle frame!"_

" _And you're a civilian class ground frame."_

" _What are you doing here?"_

" _Well, my main specialty is xenobiology and this is the xenobiology sector."_

" _But you're a shuttle frame!" A sad look tinted the mech's optics._

" _Listening to what others have to say is good. But letting yourself be ruled by that isn't. They told me that shuttles are far too dumb to be anything but transport. I listened, but decided that I was going to be a scientist anyways." Now Perceptor felt guilty. Shyly leaning into the mech's hold he let himself be carried through the maze of corridors to where he was actually supposed to be. They walked in companionable silence. The large stranger set him down just before the office, leaving a guiding hand on his back instead._

 _Professor Photon had not been happy when they made it to his office, but he made no comment till the shuttle left._

" _I don't know what that shuttle told you but don't listen to any of it. There's no way a mech of his frame type is here without a heap of plagiarizing and fraud." Percepter nodded, but chose to take what the large mech had told him to spark. Even if he didn't believe it, there was no harm in trying._

Perceptor looked down at the first frame cradled in his arms.

"It seems our positions are reversed does it not?" The winglet made no sign that he understood. "You were correct you know." Perceptor continued. "My best indeed turned out to be preeminent." The winglet rested his helm against Perceptor's shoulder. "Did you know? I became so implicated in metallurgy because of you?" Wings drooped and optics dimmed. "I took a few learning courses with the prospective desire that I would be included in one of the classes you taught. When I ascertained that you were gone on an extended expedition I continued because I enjoyed it." Skyfire fell into recharge but Perceptor continued to say all the things he'd wanted to tell him pretty much his whole life, but hadn't had the nerve to since the shuttle had been rescued from the ice.

Perceptor stopped just before the medbay and in a rare moment of sentimentality struggled with whether or not to put Skyfire down. Eventually coming to the conclusion that Skyfire likely wasn't going to let go willingly Perceptor carried him in.

Ratchet was alone setting up various scanners and monitors. He didn't even spare them a glance as he began ranting,

"I wasn't even sparked when first frames were around so there was never a need for me to have any medical knowledge about them. Between how long it's been since any existed and loosing so much information to the war Prime is worried even teletran-1 isn't going to have much information on them, if any." From there Ratchet mostly insulted a certain suspiciously absent engineer. Eventually Ratchet waved them over.

"All right, set him down." Perceptor moved to do so but Ratchet's voice had woken him up and Skyfire clung to Perceptor. "It's ok, I'm a medic. I'm here to help you." Skyfire just stared at Ratchet uncomprehendingly. Ratchet sighed "Sorry Perceptor, but it seems you may be stuck here for a while."

"That is acceptable." He replied, sitting on the berth. Skyfire quietly stared at Ratchet from Perceptor's lap while he was examined. Ratchet looked pretty angry by the time he was done. "Well?" Asked Perceptor.

"It's not _that_ much different than what would have happened to anyone else; his memories are locked away, his gained coding was repressed, and the original coding he onlined with is now front and center. The very important difference seems to be that his frame was reformatted to what he onlined in. Everything extra seems to have gone to the same subspace his extra alternate mode armor goes into while he's in bipedal mode.

Unfortunately this stupid first frame is preventing me from doing anything about it, even with my medical overrides. There isn't enough space on the processors he's currently using for all his memories and the information he's acquired. The protocols and specific coding he had isn't compatible with this frame either. His subspaces are all locked. And to top it all off, unless he was purposely put in a very defective frame, first frames apparently didn't transform, so I can't just solve the problem by having him do so and messing with him then." By the end Ratchet was full on ranting and looked like he was exercising extreme self-control not to hit either of the mechs in front of him with the wrench he was fingering. Wheeljack was in so much trouble.

Suddenly the medbay door opened and five worried young fliers burst in.

"Wheeljack said that Skyfire was back but he was in the med… bay…" Airraid trailed off when he spotted the little flight frame in Perceptor's lap; unable to finish and settling with pointing a finger accusingly. Scratch that, Wheeljack was dead.

 **A/N: This story will be a mix of sweet, fluff, and an undecided amount of crack thrown in for good measure. Please don't take it seriously, because I'm not.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: For the record, the first time I watched the episode where the Aerialbots were introduced I thought Silverbolt was a femme. Not that that in any way matters, or that anyone cares. Also, a sequel for TL is what got voted on, not this. I'm really trying to get a good outline done… but yeah. I'm working on it.**

Time seemed frozen. They all stood like statues and no one made a sound. At least until Slingshot found the presence of processor to calmly screech,

"WHAT THE PIT IS THAT?!" The wrench finally left Ratchet's servo, flying and hitting Slingshot in the center of his forehelm.

"What the pit does it look like idiot?!" Ratchet yelled back, uncaring as Slingshot just about dropped to the ground. As an afterthought he added, "And don't curse in front of him."

Ignoring his moaning brother, Fireflight bounded over to the little winglet that was looking completely unphased over all the noise.

"Is this Skyfire? He's so cute!" Fireflight plucked the little winglet from Perceptor's lap and skipped back to his brothers. Ratchet and Perceptor both quickly moved to take Skyfire back, but it was Skydive that managed to safely get the winglet away from his spacey brother; holding him much more securely.

"What... What…" Watching his commander struggle to get through his stunned haze, Skydive asked the question that they were all thinking.

"What happened to him?"

"Basically, Wheeljack turned him into a first frame sparkling. Which reminds me," Striding forwards Ratchet grabbed the wrench he'd lobbed at Slingshot. Using the wrench he first pointed at Perceptor, "We're holing a meeting in a few groons and you need to be there." The wrench then swung around to point at the Aerialbots. "You five will be taking care of Skyfire in your hanger till we decide what we're going to do. Don't take him anywhere else, don't show him to anybody else and don't tell anyone else about it. Got it?" Five nods. "Good. Now, all of you out. I have a conversation to finish with the local engineer."

XoXoXoX

Skydive held Skyfire all the way back to their hanger. He tried to set Skyfire down once they got there but he wouldn't let go. Skydive gently made Skyfire let go and set him down. Only to pick him right back up due to the pitiful noises he began making. Skydive walked over to the nest they'd made of every cloth and blanket the gestalt had acquired since onlining, and sat down.

When they had originally been given the hanger as their living quarters and seen the personal items and large make shift furniture they assumed it was items the other Autobots had left and forgotten about. They ended up partitioning the room so they each had a small storage area and place of privacy if they really wanted it. They gave the stuff it's own partition and didn't think about it again. At least until the day a large white shuttle frame came in the room looking about as surprised as they felt.

The Aerialbots had been thrilled to meet another flight frame Autobot. Powerglide didn't count because none of them liked him, and he didn't like them.

Skyfire had literally and figuratively taken them under his wings. He treated them like sparlings, but unlike the rest of the Autobots he acted like he wanted to help them grow. He taught them things that the ground frame Autobots wouldn't or couldn't know. He'd been teaching them Vosian, he taught them about their culture, and taught them how to fly better. He had even been working on fixing Silverbolt's glitch. The one where whenever he reached above a certain elevation all his instruments told him he was crashing.

It didn't take long after discovering their sixth roommate for the nest that they had built for the five of them to expand to be able to include Skyfire as well. Skyfire referred to himself as their surrogate carrier, but the five of them were trying to adopt Skyfire as their actual carrier. They had already asked a few of the higher ranking bots but they had been told that that wasn't how it works. Skyfire was supposed to adopt them, which was stupid because if Skyfire could adopt them as his sparklings, why couldn't they adopt him as their carrier?

As soon as Skydive sat down he had a brother to each side and in front of him, trying to see and get Skyfire's attention. Silverbolt was standing dazedly a bit away.

"He's so small. I can't imagine him growing to be as big as he gets."

"Don't you listen Airraid? Cybertronians don't grow like a human baby would; the spark is transferred to a bigger frame."

Giggling, Fireflight took Skyfire back from Skydive. "His wings make him look like butterfly." So long as someone was holding him Skyfire didn't seem to care who it was. He contentedly let the four fuss over him and was easily dragged into games they half made up and half took from the humans.

It took a while but eventually he warmed up enough to start trilling nonsense at them. Well, no. With their limited knowledge of Vosian they were able to recognize a few words and realize that that was what he was speaking.

When they didn't respond he kept talking but it seemed to be more to himself.

" **Hello, my designation is Skydive."** Catching on, the rest of them chimed in with their own designations in Vosian. Delighted, Skyfire started with,

" **Hi! My designation's Skyfire."** He said quite a bit more, but they weren't able to understand anything beyond that. Giving an apologetic smile Skydive recited one of the first phrases they had learned.

" **I am sorry; I am still learning to speak."** Skyfire nodded and began to trill in Vosian a bit more, though it was hard to tell who he was talking to.

It wasn't until later, when he was wondering just how long the meeting was going to last, that Skydive realized Silverbolt had yet to join them. Looking over he confirmed that Silverbolt was in fact _still_ dazed and _still_ standing at the edge of the nest. Cycling his vents, Skydive picked up Skyfire and turned to Silverbolt.

"Hey 'Bolt." Optics glanced up at him but quickly fell back to the winglet.

"Yes?"

"Your turn to hold him." That got Silverbolt's attention.

"No, that's ok," Silverbolt backed away as Skydive approached. "Really, you guys are doing such a great job and all." Silverbolt backed up into the hanger wall as Slingshot and Airraid flanked him; each wearing mischievous grins.

"Come on Silverbolt."

"Don't you want to help take care of Skyfire in his time of need?"

Optics darting around, Silverbolt searched for an escape. He had Airraid on his right, Slingshot on his left, Skydive approaching with Skyfire, and Fireflight hovering behind Skydive giving Silverbolt adorably hopeful looks. He was doomed. Silverbolt very stiffly accepted Skyfire; holding him like he was made of glass. Slingshot rolled his optics.

"You're not going to break him 'Bolt." Looking up at Silverbolt, Skyfire gave a winning smile and said,

" **Hi, my designation's Skyfire."** With slight hesitation Silverbolt relaxed a bit, responding,

" **Hello, my designation is Silverbolt."** Satisfied that he knew everyone now, Skyfire leaned against Silverbolt's chassis and dropped into recharge. Silverbolt's brothers watched as the tension bled out of his frame.

"I'm so used to him being the one person I literally have to look up to. It's weird being able to hold him like this."

The Aerialbots moved back to the nest to get some recharge themselves. Lying there together, Skydive couldn't help but hope the meeting would be a particularly long one.

XoXoXoX

"Based on that, it's highly likely that they at least have some idea what has happened."

"The question is whether or not they're going to do anything about it."

"That's not a question; they're Decepticons. They're going to do something about it, if they haven't already. Inferno can fill me in on the rest of the meeting later. I need to go increase security _now_."

Silence reigned as one mech left.

"How long do you think it will take before you can reverse the effects?"

"I honestly have no clue."

"I wanna know what the plan is if they take 'im. We don' have the resources to get 'im back. I'm not even sure we have anything to trade to get 'im back."

An extended silence.

"We'll just have to do our best to insure they don't take him."

 **A/N: Silly ending, trying to be all serious. I hope that end portion wasn't too atrocious.**

 **I have family that lived in Morocco for several years and the first thing they were taught to say translates as: 'I am sorry; I am still learning how to speak. Come back tomorrow and I will know more.'**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I'm having fun with this.**

Sunstreaker was never in a good mood after being punished for one of Sideswipe's pranks that he had nothing to do with. So regardless that Prowl could easily give them more punishment he still snapped at the SIC when he came back to see Prowl, waiting for the two of them by the entrance.

"We did the full patrol and everything else on that stupid list. What do you want?" Prowl didn't show any annoyance, merely walked back inside; making it obvious that they were supposed to follow. However, they knew him well, and could tell he was a little anxious.

"Skyfire returned from his off world mission today at 0200 local time. He carelessly activated Wheeljack's latest device and until he is returned to normal needs someone to take care of him. It was decided that the two of you were the best candidates. You will be relieved of most other duties until the situation has been sorted out." Sideswipe perked at that bit of news. Sunstreaker could tell that meeting a 'younger' version of Skyfire appealed to Sideswipe. Weirdo.

"Why can't he take care of himself?" Sunstreaker actually liked Skyfire, but he was tired and really just wanted to visit the washracks. Hopefully Sideswipe would look after him while Sunstreaker did so. Prowl didn't respond. He wouldn't have put them on light duty if he didn't think it was absolutely necessary, so obviously Skyfire truly couldn't take care of himself. That didn't change the fact that it was annoying. I mean seriously, what idiot onlines a frame without the programing needed to take care of itself?

Prowl brought them to the medbay. The Aerialbots were there, but he didn't see Skyfire among them. The fliers were visibly disappointed when they saw the three of them walk in. The big one had been holding something and brought it over to them. Sunstreaker's processor refused to acknowledge what he was seeing. Sideswipe tensed up beside him, likely having the same problem.

The large flier hesitated on which of them to give it to before settling on handing it to Sideswipe; likely because he was usually the more approachable of the two. Sideswipe visibly bristled.

Prowl escorted the aerialbots out so that it was just them and Ratchet.

"What happened!?"

"During the Golden Age, before resources were so limited, new sparks were placed in progressive frames. There were first through fourth and then the final frame, each one able to handle more than the last. This is Skyfire in his first frame. He currently can't speak Standard or English so he won't know what you're saying. He also doesn't have access to previous memories, but his processors are recording memory just fine. Do with that information what you will. Any questions?"

Sideswipe adjusted his grip a bit.

"Were first frames always this trusting?"

"No, as a safety feature they were actually quite skittish. But, any impressions on his spark would have remained. He doesn't remember you, but you're familiar which is why he's so trusting."

"Oh, well… What now?"

"Now, you keep him safe until we can return him to normal. If he shows any signs of illness you let me know immediately. Now scat!" The twins quickly escaped before Ratchet began throwing things. Sideswipe still seemed at loss on what to do though, once they made it to the hall. Sunstreaker looked the three of them over and knew exactly what was going to happen next.

"C'mon Sides."

"Where are we going?" Sideswipe fell into line behind him.

"The washracks, all three of us are filthy." Sunstreaker ignored the amusement that crept along their bond. Sideswipe may not be able to see how filthy they were but Sunstreaker was not about to ignore it. They made it to the washracks much quicker than normal.

Word had spread that there was a first frame currently among them and many were curious; most had never seen a first frame and it been a long time for the few that had. They didn't like being stared at and the open staring at Skyfire rubbed them the wrong way. They really didn't like the way the cameras were so obviously following them either.

Sunstreaker and Sideswipe didn't relax till the washrack's door closed behind them. Skyfire alertly looked between them, having picked up the tension in their fields. He relaxed as they did.

Sunstreaker started on Sideswipe, as he always did, while Sideswipe began on Skyfire. Or, he would have, if Skyfire hadn't laughd in delight and run just out of reach, eliciting amused smiles from his current caretakers as well. Skyfire seemed to think washing was a kind of game as he began to playfully evade them. The twins helped get each other clean while making halfhearted swipes at Skyfire to keep him occupied. The sparkling laughed and ran around their peds. When they were done with each other they turned their full attention to Skyfire. They purposely missed him a few times before each grabbing a servo and beginning to clean. When they reached his wings he stilled; wings twitching in their servos. They froze, wondering what they'd done wrong. But Skyfire merely settled down to let them clean him. He made a questioning noise at them when they didn't immediately continue. Figuring it was ok, but not sure exactly what they'd done to prompt the change, they finished.

The trip back to their room was just as bad as the trip to the washracks and they once again made it much quicker than normal. When the door to their quarters closed, allowing the twins to relax, Skyfire rested a servo on Sideswipe's chestplates and trilled concerned nonsense at them. Sideswipe smiled gently back down at him.

"It's ok Sky, don't worry about it." There was a pause before Skyfire began trilling more nonsense at him. Sunstreaker joined the two.

"He's like one of those human babies." Stated Sideswipe. Sunstreaker rolled his optics.

"He's nothing like a baby."

"Yes he is! He's tiny and adorable and babbling nonsense at us. Just like a baby." Sunstreaker chose to ignore his brother, instead taking Skyfire who looked closer and closer to falling into recharge by the klick. He laid down on his berth with Skyfire pressed up again his chest. When Sideswipe hesitated to climb into his own berth Sunstreaker made a big show of moving over enough to give Sideswipe room to join them. He acted annoyed, but they both knew he wasn't actually. Sideswipe gratefully laid down next to Sunstreaker. Each of them were on their sides facing each other with Skyfire deep in recharge between them. It was the first recharge where they shared a berth in a while. It was also the best recharge either of them had had in a while.

XoXoXoX

They strode into the rec room the next morning each holding one of Skyfire's servos. Sideswipe was trying his best to act normal, Sunstreaker was actively broadcasting aggression, and now that he was wide awake, Skyfire was absolutely thrilled to be out and about. Sparkling Skyfire was shyer than his older counterpart, but seemed to have the same sense of adventure.

Sideswipe and Sunstreaker were holding his servos for their own benefit. He had wanted to walk on his own instead of being carried but kept getting distracted or kept wanting to explore or kept something-ing. Skyfire tried to go down every hall they passed, talk to every mech he recognized, tried to hide from every mech he didn't recognize, and when they passed a stalagmite formation that had formed in a hallway of _The Arc_ that was still damaged from the crash, he had circled and examined it in a way that only a curious sparkling could. Or, you know, grown Skyfire finding something new could. Not liking the increasing number of bots that suddenly had a reason to go down this particular, usually unused, hall they had dragged him away from the earthen formation. Though, they did let him pick out a small rock to keep from it first.

Despite having planned to quickly head straight to the rec room, grab energon for the three of them, and head back to their room, it took them much longer than usual just to make it to the rec room due to all the stops and detours Skyfire kept making.

Most of the Autobots in the room took one look at Sunstreaker and settled for 'discrete' staring, rather than actually coming over. Skyfire alternated between testing their grips and babbling at them. He threw his weight into one last tug before giving up and, completely foregoing the use of his legs, hanging between the twins.

Skyfire's wings perked up and he twisted around as best as he could without supporting his weight or letting go of his guardians' hands, grabbing their attention. They looked up to see Brawn approach; watching them warily and Skyfire with open interest.

"What?" Sunstreaker snarled. He really didn't like any of the minibots on principal. Brawn frowned but stayed surprisingly level, not rising to the aggression Sunstreaker was emitting through his EM field.

"I heard about Skyfire and wanted to check on him. I've never seen a first frame and wanted to make sure he was doing ok." For reasons that escaped the twin's understanding, Brawn and Skyfire were friends. So he was probably telling the truth; but that didn't mean they liked the idea of another mech, one that they most definitely didn't like, standing as close to Skyfire as he was right now.

"Well, now you've seen him."

Brawn actually looked hesitant for once, but that quickly passed.

"You know, if the two of you wanted some time to just relax and enjoy your energon, or need time alone, I'd be happy to look after him for a little while." Seeing as the dislike was mutual, Brawn was probably unhappy they were Skyfire's current guardians, but he was just going to have to deal with it.

"Noted." The twins grabbed their cubes and walked around him. Or… would have if Skyfire hadn't continued to limply hang between them. It wasn't that he was too heavy for them, especially for the two of them together. It was just that the way he was hanging between them made him very awkward to carry unless they planned on literally dragging him back to their room. Sideswipe tried to get Skyfire to stand on his own again while Sunstreaker kept an optic on Brawn and the rest of the room. It didn't take long for the front liner to get exasperated. At which point he just picked Skyfire up to carry him back to the room. Skyfire didn't protest like he had originally, waving to Brawn on their way out. Brawn smiled and waved back.

XoXoXoX

The three of them kept to mostly the same routine for the next several cycles. Skyfire's two caretakers kept him occupied in the room the majority of the time. The three of them would go out together to get energon, only to come right back. The smaller ground frame from their first time out approached most of the time. His caretakers hadn't been happy to let the mech come too close at first, which he didn't understand. But with each time the smaller one came over, his caretakers would let him 'converse' a little while longer.

He was pretty sure none of the grounders here spoke Vosian. Even the other fliers hadn't known more than the basics spoken slowly. But that didn't stop him from chatting with everyone he vaguely recognized that got close enough. He was very proud of the fact that he was picking up grounder words. He knew both of his caretaker's designations, the designation of the medic they kept taking him to, the small mech from the first time getting energon, and the red mech from the very first cycle. He'd also figured out that 'energon' meant **'energon'** ,'good morning' was **'hello'** , and 'skyfire' meant **'sparkling'** with 'sky' being an informal use of the word.

He wanted to explore, but his caretakers didn't seem very keen on that. Sometimes one or the other would leave, but the remaining one was always even more adamant that they weren't going outside. A few times, there had been lots of noises and running mechs outside the room. Once, they had both left when the noises started blaring and Perceptor had come and taken care of him. They had taken a new path to his room, but the walk there was brisk with no allowances for deviation. And he still hadn't been allowed to explore.

He onlined to a dark room. During the previous cycle with Perceptor he had decided that he was going to try and ask to go exploring or to see the other fliers again. A quick look revealed they were both still in recharge. His caretakers had come back so exhausted the previous cycle and he felt bad waking them. Resolving to let them recharge and unable to think of a reason they would say no if they could understand him enough to ask, he quietly slipped between them and made his way to the door. Grabbing his rock off of Sideswipe's desk, he input the code to unlock the door and slipped out, making sure to lock the door again behind him. Perceptor and the room they got energon in were both to the right, so he was going to go left.

And so he was off! Skyfire, the greatest explorer of all time was going to discover something fantastic. He began to hum a tune as he began his journey through the ancient ruins, knowing he would need his wits about him when he came across a challenge. He was able to walk undisturbed for quite some time through the maze planet he had accidentally been trapped on. Alas, it was not to stay that way. The underground tunnels he had chosen brought him to his first puzzle.

It was one of two kinds. Either, if he didn't step on the slightly different colored floor panels in the right pattern it would set off the trap, or only one of the shades of orange was safe to step on, all other shades were false floor panels that through science stuff prevented you from flying away and had acid under them.

Gathering his courage he leapt to the first floor panel, then through super powers of deduction made the jump to what he hoped was the next panel. He stilled as he waited for the panel to fall. It didn't, proving the worth of his puzzle solving skills. Knowing which kind of trap this was relieved some of the pressure, but now he had to figure out the pattern. Using all the logic he had, he determined the pattern and made it safely across.

He came across many more traps along the way, but none were able to stop him. His trusty rock enabling him to solve many he wouldn't have otherwise been able to. Making it deep within the bowels of the abandoned temple he felt a panel shift ever so slightly under his ped. Horrified he looked back to the swarm of heat seeking missiles headed for him. How could he have become so over confident!? He kicked on his thrusters, his only hope being to outfly them. Sharply rounding a corner he tricked the missiles into blowing up a wall instead of him. Celebration was short lived though as he slammed into something. Looking up he saw it was a completely unfamiliar mech. He didn't exude any of the familiarity that the others he'd been with did.

Skyfire backed away as the mech turned to look down at him. Skyfire was suddenly very aware that he was alone. The mech spoke in their strange grounder language and reached for him. His vocalizer locked as he tried to scream and instead he screamed down the two feint sibling bonds and the other bond. He couldn't back away fast enough and his thrusters kicked back on so that he was flying backwards. Twisting around, he could hear the grounder transforming and giving chase. He wasn't sure where he was going but he screamed for all he was worth down his bonds. He was snatched out of the air and held, limbs pinned down against another mech. A heavily accented voice said,

" **Be still, be quiet."** Looking up, he met the optics of the mech he'd dubbed the mystery grounder. He held the same distant familiarity that Brawn did and he saw him every time he went to get energon with his caretakers. The mystery grounder would appear for just long enough to give a smile and wave, and then no matter how hard he tried he wouldn't be able to find him again. The other mech drove by and Skyfire relaxed.

XoXoXoX

The last battle had been strangely brutal. No one had thankfully been offlined, but well into the next cycle, Ratchet was still doing repairs. Tired, Mirage walked back to his room without even bothering with any of the stealth he usually used; even flopping down on his berth in a fashion far more undignified than he would have liked, dropping into recharge immediately.

He was woken much sooner than he would have liked by a com from Red Alert.

:: Skyfire has left the twin's room without them. Their comms are currently blocked and I will not have a first frame running around unsupervised. As the otherwise closest functioning mech he would be familiar with, please rectify the situation. ::

Mirage responded with an affirming ping. He slipped into the hallway so Red Alert could see he was complying before engaging his cloaking device.

The twin's room was just down the hall from his and Skyfire wasn't hard to find. He quietly followed the little first frame, happy to see anyone playing so carefree.

Growing up in the towers, Mirage met plenty of visiting seekers and knew some of their language. Not enough to speak it well, but he could get the gist of what Skyfire was narrating to himself. Mirage smiled at the tale spun of exploration. The rock Skyfire carried around transforming into a valuable tool for solving the made up puzzles. Not wanting to spoil the sparkling's fun, Mirage followed undetected. And if he used some of the same paths as Skyfire to get across the hallways, well, no one would ever know.

Skyfire stepped on a loose panel and froze. Dramatically horrified the sparkling turned around, then flew off at a speed Mirage hadn't been expecting. Transforming he drove after Skyfire. He rounded a corner just in time to see Skyfire crash into Hoist; someone Skyfire didn't really ever interact with as an adult. Surprised, Hoist asked if Skyfire was ok. He moved as if to help the downed flyer, but Skyfire took off full thruster down the hall towards Mirage. Angling and preparing himself, Mirage managed to catch Skyfire and use the previous momentum to pull them around the corner.

Dropping his invisibility, he whispered, **"Be still, be quiet."** In hopes of preventing a struggle. Scared, sky blue optics looked up at him. Skyfire relaxed, recognizing him. He commed Hoist that he had Skyfire and got a relived ping in response. There was a beat of stillness while Skyfire waited for Hoist to get further away, but it wasn't long until he was twisting to get more comfortable in Mirage's hold.

" **You know Vosian!"** He excitedly whispered.

" **A little bit."** Mirage admitted.

" **My designation's Skyifre."**

" **Designation is Mirage mine. Where caretakers yours?"**

Skyfire giggled. Whether it was at his pronunciation, grammar, or accent, Mirage was willing to admit his Vosian needed work.

" **They're in recharge. Something happened and they got really tired. I didn't seem right to wake them up and I wanted to go exploring."** Grateful Skyfire was speaking slowly for him, he tried to gently chide the wayward sparkling.

" **What if wake up them and sight gone of you?"** Skyfire took a moment to sort his poor grammar, before guiltily shifting, wings moving in what was basically the equivalent of a shrug.

" **Requesting join exploration I?"**

Skyfire's face lit up.

" **You want to join me?"**

" **Yes."**

" **I would love that!"** Standing before him Skyfire proudly presented his puzzle solving rock, before leading him on a winding tour of the base. They 'rescued' Brawn when they happened upon him, and he joined their party. Mutual agreement passed between them that they weren't telling anyone else they played like sparklings. Mirage's next shift came too soon for his liking. Grabbing Skyfire's attention he stated,

" **Until later."** And vanished, much to Skyfire's amazement. Skyfire turned to Brawn and started spewing all sorts of exclamations and questions before collecting himself and starting on a speech about how, even with a comrade lost they had to complete the mission. Despite losing their translator, Mirage had no doubt they would continue to have just as much fun.

XoXoXoX

Thankfully the rec room was relatively empty when it happened. The three of them were relaxing semi-together. Skywarp and Thundercracker were sipping energon at a table together while Starscream lounged on the couch; deceptively relaxed. A few Earth weeks ago Skywarp and Thundercracker's sibling bonds with Skyfire, something they had never felt the need to dissolve when they thought him dead, and didn't have the spark to now that they knew he was alive, had changed. They couldn't pinpoint exactly how, but the brothers knew something had happened to their eldest sibling to change the bond. They had sent questioning pulses at the time, and received them in turn along with location queries they wouldn't answer. Since then they hadn't gotten anything other than content or curious feelings. Whatever had happened, he seemed to be happier.

Starscream wouldn't admit it, even if they could ask without fear of being overheard, but they could tell their trine leader felt some kind of change as well. He had been even more shrill and snappish than usual; going off on mechs over less than he normally did. To someone who knew exactly what to look for, the plans he'd been presenting were obviously designed to either lure Skyfire out or force the Autobots to call on his transport capabilities. The Decepticons were winning more than usual, which was nice. But with every plan that didn't draw the shuttle out Starscream's general mood fouled a little bit more, making him just shy of unbearable.

Skywarp and Thundercracker each hid a flinch as fear shrieked down their sibling bond. Starscream's servo flew to his chest, but he covered it up by continuing the motion and using that servo to pull himself over the back of the couch in an admittedly graceful move. Skyfire had stopped screaming down their sibling bond and once again seemed content by the time Starscream had made it halfway to the door. Nonetheless, they got a message over their secure trine com from Starscream as he left.

:: Be ready, we're going to have a talk with Skyfire, whether he wants to or not. ::

 **A/N: And another faux serious ending. Watching Fire in the Sky and Fire on the Mountain the first time, Thundercracker and Skywarp's dialogue as well as small actions in regards to Skyfire seemed a little funny to me. I still remember wondering how Skywarp would know Skyfire had an infocenter in his knee. After watching a few more times I convinced myself they had to have known him before the war somehow and I have fun playing with maybes. In this particular instance they're his younger siblings and they met Starscream through him.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: If you just found this story you can ignore this chapter's note. I got rid of the weird pronoun thing I was doing. They're genderless, for me the only difference is carrier spark vs siring spark; it really doesn't matter what pronoun gets used so back to canon only. Sorry about that…**

Red Alert tried his best to simultaneously ignore the sparkling in the corner and keep a sharp optic on it to make sure it didn't do anything. The twin's fighting skills had been needed and they were out at the moment; as were most of the other Autobots Skyfire would be familiar with. Red Alert had reluctantly agreed to look after the little winglet until the twins got back.

It wasn't that he didn't like Skyfire, Red Alert actually liked him quite a bit. But likability didn't necessarily equate to trustworthiness; especially in his current state. Skyfire hadn't done anything but play with the rock so far, but Red Alert wasn't going to put it past the first frame to wait until his attention was diverted elsewhere and then do something devious. Red Alert's engine gave a rev of frustration at the situation, unfortunately getting Skyfire's attention. The little first frame got up from where he'd been playing in the corner with the rock and walked over to the console. Red Alert pretended not to notice.

Tiny white servos wrapped around the armrest of his chair. Skyfire gave a few questioning chirps, trilling up at him for a moment. When Red Alert refused to so much as look at Skyfire, he pulled himself up onto the tips of his peds so he could properly see the large array of monitors. Red Alert quickly changed the screens to put out code that should be above Skyfire's current reading capability instead of visuals.

Skyfire looked back and forth between Red Alert and the monitors. Slowly reaching out Skyfire put his rock on the console, before returning his servos to the arm rest and peering up at Red Alert hopefully.

Red Alert stared first at the rock, before finally looking down at Skyfire. Big blue optics stared back at him, wings splayed up and wide in some sort of secret flyer code. Skyfire chirped again, likely mocking him for not being able to understand Vossian. The door opened and Red Alert gave a quick glance to confirm it was Inferno before turning back to his staring contest with Skyfire. Skyfire didn't seem eager to continue it with Red Alert though and instead was watching Inferno warily.

Wings dropped at the same rate Inferno approached. Small servos moved from the armrest to Red Alert's thigh plating once Inferno was just a few steps away. That was when Red Alert had decided he'd had enough.

"Cut that out! You think you're being cute? I demand you stop right now!"

Inferno's soft laugh startled Red Alert a bit.

"Red, he's just a sparkling."

"And what if he's trying to take advantage of that fact? Ratchet said he didn't have access to most of his memories. He's forgotten why he chose the Autobots and is waiting for the right moment to aid the Decepticons."

"Do you really think Skyfire of all mechs is going to do something horrible?" Inferno gave another look at the winglet trying to hide behind Red Alert, much to said mech's displeasure. "Especially as he is now?"

"I would like to think Skyfire wouldn't do anything, but as he is now we really don't know, do we?"

Inferno crouched down so he was closer to Skyfire's height. Skyfire responded with his best 'not here' impression.

"Come on, I know we don't talk much, but you know me." Inferno slowly reached out and offered his servo. Instead of grabbing the offered appendage, Skyfire grabbed Red Alert's leg. Red Alert's armor flared, but he didn't shake Skyfire off, resolutely staring at the monitors.

"Inferno, I think I'm going to have to insist you back off enough that Skyfire feels comfortable letting go."

Inferno backed off, a little disappointed. Skyfire hesitantly let go of Red Alert's leg and watched Inferno. Relieved, Red Alert tried to get some real work done while Inferno was distracting Skyfire. The little winglet slowly came out from behind Red Alert. It seemed there may be some inkling of familiarity there. Skyfire shyly smiled and waved at Inferno. Red Alert tried to hide his smile at the way Inferno lit up, smiling and waving back.

XoXoXoX

Something was going on. Of that Megarton was sure. Autobot security had suspiciously increased a few Earth weeks ago to the point that even Soundwave's minions hadn't been able to infiltrate the base.

This in and of itself wouldn't be too alarming if it weren't for the fact that Starscream had been useful these past weeks. Successful plans to harvest energy had been presented, aerial troop training had improved drastically, a few new weapons had been designed and crafted, and not once had Starscream tried to overthrow him or in any way claim Decepticon leadership. This last one in particular was rather alarming. The seeker was far too distracted for Megatron's liking.

It was obvious that there was some plan, some goal, that Starscream was working towards. But Megatron couldn't think of what it could be other that his position. At this point, even if it was an elaborate take over plot, he just wanted Starscream to put it into motion and be done with it.

Whatever it was had been taking up all of the seeker's concentration. The lack of insults directed at him during Starscream's shifts on the command deck was highly unnerving; especially as his frustration with these mysterious plans that weren't coming to fruition grew.

After a rather successful raid that left Starscream particularly seething, the seeker had presented another plan. It was one guaranteed to get them both energy and whatever the Autobots were guarding should it succeed. Megatron read through the details and was surprised to notice that Starscream had split his own trine up. If Megatron left it as it was, Thundercracker would be at the distraction of the distraction that Starscream was going to lead while Skywarp was in the group retrieving the Autobot's latest superweapon, or power source, or whatever it was they were guarding. Other than that interesting detail, the plan seemed like a good one.

One benefit of Starscream being useful was that he was, well, useful. Something was going on. But Megatron wasn't one hundred percent sure that was a bad thing.

XoXoXoX

Once they'd made it inside the shield that kept the Decepticons, not that any Decepticons other than Skywarp had the ability to, from just teleporting into their ship Skywarp did just that. What the others he'd come with decided to do was their own problem.

No one was in the hallway he'd teleported into. Skywarp took a moment to focus on his feint sibling bond. He grinned as he realized Skyfire was close enough he was probably still in the Ark, probably with whatever was being guarded too. As the humans said, it would be like killing two birds with one stone.

Not that he wanted to kill Skyfire. Or destroy whatever the Autobots were guarding. Unless the Decepticons wouldn't be able to use it; because if it was only useful to the Autobots it would probably be a good idea to destroy it. …Maybe the saying didn't fit as well as he thought.

Skywarp headed down the general-ish direction he was pretty sure Skyfire was in, half looking for him and half keeping a look out for what he'd been sent for. Not that he knew exactly what he'd been sent for… At least he knew what Skyfire looked like.

XoXoXoX

The Decepticons had become emboldened by recent wins and it seemed like all of them were out, attacking in two distant locations. Every able bodied Autobot had gone out to face them. The only mechs left in the Ark were those still too injured from the last set of battles to leave the med bay, the medic that refused to leave them, the sparkling, and the twins to protect them all just in case. The command staff didn't want to leave the ark completely without protection.

Sideswipe had been looking after Skyfire in the security office while Sunstreaker physically stood guard in front of the med bay when the sparkling excitedly ran for the door. Sideswipe grabbed his arm before he could get too far.

"No. You have to stay near me."

Skyfire made piteous noises, small servos trying to peel away the frontliner's gentle but firm grip. Sideswipe frowned, not sure what had gotten into Skyfire and a little worried. The little flier seemed to be trying to tell him something, but he had no idea what it could be.

Pulling the unhappy flier into his lap he turned back to the screens. The cameras had all cut and blank glass reflected back at him. Alarmed now, Sideswipe used their bond to let Sunstreaker know something was up, not bothering with comms that could be intercepted. Sideswipe cautiously headed for the med bay with Skyfire. Two guards were better than one, and Skyfire would honestly be safer in the med bay where Ratchet could make sure he was out of the way and didn't run off while the twins were distracted with fighting. He wasn't sure whether to be relieved or worried when Skyfire seemed happy with the change, excitedly trying to pull him along faster.

Being on the way anyways, Sideswipe took a brief detour into the armory for extra ammo. There was no such thing as over prepared; especially when one had no clue how many they were up against.

Sideswipe spun towards the entrance at the sound of the door opening, smoothly stepping in front of Skyfire. Sunstreaker was still a good distance away and the only other mechs that would be coming in were Decepticons. Skywarp walked in and smirked at the sight of him; only to freeze at the sight of the winglet peeking around his legs. Said winglet gasped in delight and tried to run towards Skywarp. Sideswipe was only just able to catch his servo and pull him back. Sideswipe tried to ignore the confused, almost hurt, look Skyfire was giving him. He could practically see Skywarp connecting the dots and wanted to be ready the moment he tried anything.

XoXoXoX

Skywap couldn't believe it! The Autobots had a first frame winglet! How on Cyberton had they managed that!? It wasn't like they had many fliers and most of those were final frame sparlings themselves. Not to mention the materials they would have needed to make the frame. Skywarp thought about the changes to the bonds they had with Skyfire they hadn't been able to pinpoint. This whole security increase had started at the same time. The winglet in front of him was obviously shuttle class. He had Skyfire's exact colorings and had a pair of 'butterfly wings' that looked just like the ones Skywarp hadn't seen since Skyfire's interstellar upgrades. Skywarp's optics brightened as he realized what had happened. He couldn't believe it! There was no way it was true! It shouldn't have even been possible!

"SKYFIRE HAD A WINGLET AND WAS TRYING TO HIDE IT FROM US!"

"Wait- What? No!" Sideswipe was practically sputtering. Skywarp didn't seem to hear him.

"I know we're on opposite sides of a war now, and I know we haven't been on the best terms since freeing him from the ice, but you'd think he would have told us he was going to have a winglet!"

"That's not-"

"I mean you have no idea how important kin is to fliers. Maybe he was worried we wouldn't care as much since he had a winglet instead of seekerlets. But he should have known that wouldn't have mattered to us!"

"He wasn't-"

"We could have kidnapped and taken care of him during his carrying cycle!"

"I don't-"

"Oh, no! It's worse than I thought. He was planning on keeping the winglet hidden. He must really hate us! I'm sorry Skyfire! We forgot about those strange 'morals' things of yours and how important they were to you. We'll try not to purposely break them in front of you ever again!"

"Skywarp! This isn't Skyfire's winglet!"

Skywarp narrowed his optics and looked at the winglet again. His programing was registering the winglet as kin, and while he didn't think Starscream had done anything with Skyfire since the ice, that didn't mean he hadn't, and his programing was most definitely registering the winglet as kin. Seriously, rebooting that subroutine did nothing, it was registering as kin. Which could only mean…

"Liar liar, you're on fire!" Skywarp pointed an accusing digit at Sideswipe. Sideswipe stopped gaping long enough to reply,

"First off, it's pants on fire, which we don't wear. Secondly this _is_ Skyfire, not his winglet."

Skywarp stared. And stared some more. Eventually he broke into a huge grin, squealing,

"HE'S SO CUTE! How could I forget he was so adorable as a winglet?!" Skywarp crouched down and reaching forwards, switched to Vosian. **"Come here Skyfire!"**

Skyfire was just quick enough to take Sideswipe by surprise when he threw himself at Skywarp. Lunging forwards Sideswipe tried to grab Skyfire again but with a purple hazed VOP they were gone.

 **A/N: So I actually wrote 'Sideswipe spun' onwards first for this story. It sat marked as 'Chapter Who Knows' till I figured out what I was going to do with this chapter.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Sorry about the wait. Real life, writer's block, real life, real life, real life, writer's block, real life. In that order.**

 **It's been so long, I almost forgot to thank my two reviewers for their encouragement! Thank you very much!**

Skywarp teleported back out to the edge of the field around the Ark. With instinctual ease he took off in root mode holding Skyfire in such a way that supported him, but still let him feel the currents around them. Skyfire laughed in delight. Skywarp laughed with him and allowed himself a few careful maneuvers, electing happy squeals from Skyfire.

Once they were a safe distance from the ArkSkywarp opened a comline with his trine.

::The Autobots were guarding Skyfire! He's a first frame again and they had the red pit spawn looking after him! I'm bringing him back to the Nemesisnow. ::

::You can't bring Skyfire to the _Nemesis!_ And what about the team you were sent with? ::

::Uh, I dunno. I just kinda left them there. ::

::Skywarp, what do you mean 'he's a first frame again'? :: And that right there was further proof to Skywarp that TC was the smartest of them. He actually caught the important stuff and got Starscream to stop screeching at him, even if it was a silly question.

::He's a first frame again means that he's a first frame again. :: At this point, Skywarp was almost directly above the Nemesis _._ Skywarp teleported straight to the bridge. There, Megatron's team had returned and was waiting for him.

Megatron smirked upon his entrance, though that quickly dropped to a frown as he caught sight of Skyfire. Skywarp proudly held him up for the room to see.

"The Autobots put Skyfire in a first frame! Can we keep him Lord Megatron? Please? Please?"

The seekers in the room perked up, the sight of a first frame awakening long dormant guardian protocols; something that was not lost to Megatron. Thundercracker in particular took several steps towards Skywarp.

"Skyfire? That's the shuttle we found in the Arctic, is it not?"

A console beeped and Soundwave silently reached over to let Starscream's returning group in.

"Yeah! So can we keep him? I promise we'll take care of him, and he's always been well behaved, you won't even know he's here!"

Thundercracker continued to discretely edge towards his trinemate.

Megatron looked down at one of his most loyal followers holding what had the potential to finally keep Starscream in his place. It wasn't the energy or weapon he'd been hoping for, but it was an excellent find in its own right. Starscream's attachment to the shuttle was painfully obvious, and Megatron was confident that he could walk the fine line between holding the thing's life above Starscream's helm and seeming benevolent enough for the rest of the seekers to trust him with it.

Starscream chose that moment to fly into the room, transforming and sliding to a stop between Megatron and Skywarp; optics flicking between Megatron and Skyfire, who had long since curled up on himself. Skywarp still held him up for Megatron's inspection and it was clear he was uncomfortable bearing the warlords gaze.

Megarton smirked and Starscream positively bristled.

"Very well. As a reward for your continued loyalty I will allow you and your trine to keep it."

Hugging Skyfire to his chest Skywarp bowed deeply.

"Thank you! Thank you my Lord!" Skywarp exclaimed. Thundercracker managed to grab him before they teleported away.

Still smirking, Megatron's gaze slid to the remaining member of the command trine.

"Starscream. And how did your raid go?"

Starscream spit a few choice words at him before storming out of the room. Megatron leaned back, rather satisfied. Coming from Starscream, that could easily mean anything from 'it was a full success, how dare you question my skill' to 'it was a complete failure and I hope you know it's all your fault.'

Either way, his group had gotten the energy they'd set out for and Skywarp's group had gotten a one up on the Autobots.

XoXoXoX

With a purple flash of light and a bang of displaced air, Thundercracker and Skywarp appeared in the command trine's shared quarters.

"What are you thinking?!" Thundercracker was in Skywarp's space, gesturing somewhat wildly. "Skyfire doesn't belong among the Decepticons. _Sparklings_ don't belong among the Decepticons. Are you trying to get him offlined?"

"Megatron said we could keep him." Seriously, what was Thundercracker's problem?

Thundercracker gave Skywarp a long flat stare. "'Warp, I want you to think about Skyfire. Our shy, pacifistic Sky that we were worried enough about when he was big enough to get by on intimidation. Now, look at the small, vulnerable, _sparkling_ in your arms. How can you possibly wonder whyI'm worried?"

Skywarp looked down at Skyfire, who looked back in curiosity; uncomprehending of the conversation going on above his head.

"That's why we're here! Megatron said we could keep him. That means he's not going to punish us for protecting him!"

" **Right Sky? You trust us to keep you safe?"**

Skyfire perked up. **"Of course!"** He nuzzled Skywarp, wings canted in a way that just overall screamed childish affection. They looked at Thundercracker and the blue mech all but melted under the combined weight of their gazes. He covered his optics as if to ward off the sight.

"Dang it. Skyfire's usually on my side."

" **TC?"**

Thundercracker peaked though his fingers at Skyfire's voice, and knew he'd just lost. Skyfire was reaching towards him with pleading optics. Cycling his vents he took Skyfire from Skywarp.

" **Don't worry. I'm here to protect you too."**

Skyfire happily snuggled into his arms. It was funny, Thundercracker mused. He'd always thought that Skyfire was big; even when they were both first frames. If Skyfire was this small, how small had he been?

Thundercracker rested his chin on top of Skyfire's helm and marveled at the rare moment of quiet Skywarp was allowing. A moment that was promptly shattered by Starscream; who burst into the room with as much noise and general excessiveness that Starscream could manage. Because neither of Thundercracker's trinemates knew the meaning of the words peace or quiet.

"What were you thinking?!"

Skywarp groaned and fell back onto the berth. "We _just_ had this conversation."

"And hopefully Thundercracker got it through your thick helm that he can't stay."

"Nope! TC said we can keep him!"

Starscream whirled on Thundercracker.

"You _agreed_ with him!? What's wrong with _you_?! You're supposed to be the sensible one! I can't believe the two of you -"

Skyfire had come to attention at Starscream's entrance and was staring with rapt attention at the screeching seeker. Without even attempting to interrupt the angry tirade Thundercracker dropped Skyfire in Starscream's arms. Starscream cut off with a strangled noise at suddenly having an arm full of sparkling. The two stared at each other unsure.

Skyfire slowly put a servo on the plating above Starscream's spark.

" **It's you."** He looked back up at Starscream. **"What is it?"**

Starscream's face screwed up into a snarl. "Don't you _dare_ play with me like that."

Skyfire flinched; hurt and confusion spreading across all three bonds.

" **I don't understand."**

This was not going well. Thundercracker moved to take Skyfire back, regretting his decision to give him to Starscream in the first place. Starscream aggressively flared his wings up and turned away, now holding Skyfire by the scruff bar.

"What could possibly be unclear about don't toy with me?"

" **I don't understand you."** Skyfire remained confused, his distress growing with Starscream's aggression.

Starscream's face softened into a thoughtful frown and he changed his grip to once again hold Skyfire more securely. Skyfire was acting entirely too much like an actual first frame, and even if he managed to convince himself that Skyfire had spontaneously obtained the ability to both lie and act, the bond was wide open, conveying genuine feelings.

"What, exactly, did they do to him?"

"We're not sure."

Giving himself a moment to put up strong firewalls just in case, Starscream plugged himself into a medical port, running through Skyfire's coding.

"Everything's here, he just can't access most of it. He is, for all intents and purposes, an actual first frame at the moment."

"I don't get it. Why would the Autobots waste the recourses to make a first frame and then put someone useful into a frame that's actually a burden on them? This makes no sense."

"Yeah, even the Aerialbabies were put straight into final frames."

"It looks like this is his own armor. The extra's all in subspace. And I don't think this was on purpose. There are signs that they tried unlocking key files and initiating his transformation sequence. It also looks like they tried to give him a couple of basic English and standard datapackets, but they ended up in the same file the ones he's compiled are."

Starscream removed his cable and dropped Skyfire on the berth. Skywarp was quick to pick him up again.

"I'll be in my lab. If you need me, don't."

The door closed behind him and Skyfire turned to Skywarp with static filled optics.

" **What did I do?"**

Thundercracker came over and reassuringly pet him.

" **You didn't do anything. Star just was upset over a little misunderstanding."**

Skyfire wiggled his wings in fervent denial.

" **He's still mad at me."**

Thundercracker had to bite back a smile at display; it wouldn't do to make Skyfire more upset by smiling at the adorable movement. Skywarp shifted him to catch his attention.

" **He's always mad. That's his default emotion. If he's sad, or scared, or hurt, he always hides it under anger. He's worried about you, and that means he's mad at you."**

" **Why would he be worried about me?"**

Not about to explain everything he apparently didn't remember or how most of the grounders on the ship would not be nice to a little first frame, Skywarp looked to Thundercracker for help.

" **There are lots of mechs here that would have fun doing bad things to you. Which is why you're never going to go anywhere without us, ok? The three of us are your adventure mentors right now so no going anywhere alone."**

"Adventure mentors?"

"Yeah, I guess you were too young to remember. I don't know how many times he gave our caretakers sparkattacks when he'd just wander off on his own. Sometimes he'd convince me to come with him, and that really got them in a tizzy." Thundercracker laughed and the noise startled the seekers. When had laughter become such a rare thing? Thundercracker banished that thought before continuing.

"It didn't matter how attentive they were, Skyfire had the gift of vanishing from right under their optics. Holding his servos usually worked, but they couldn't hold him every astrosecond of every cycle. He'd feel bad about making them upset, and then he'd forget and be right back at it. The only thing that ever worked was when they told him that real explorers started with adventure mentors that would decide when they were ready to be on their own."

Skywarp playfully tugged on Skyfire's wing.

" **You sneaky little winglet."** Skywarp brushed over sensitive seams and wires, tickling Skyfire and sending him into peals of laughter. **"Is that why I was never allowed to get away with anything? Huh?"** Skyfire may have been trying to answer, but was having trouble doing anything other than squealing under Skywarp's touch. " **You were making up for upsetting them when you were little, weren't you?"** Skyfire managed to wiggle away and into Thundercracker's arms, but the blue seeker simply held him in place for Skywarp, while the purple seeker now had two free hands. **"And by the time I was trying to do stuff our caretakers had already had way too much practice keeping a slippery sparkling in sight."**

Skywarp continued his assault until laughter was broken by static and Skyfire's cooling fans were on high, vents dumping heat.

He may have continued anyways, if one of his preset alarms hadn't pinged him that he had a shift now. It was down in the storage rooms too so he couldn't take Skyfire with him. No way was he risking Skyfire slipping away and running into trouble down there.

" **Alright. I guess that's enough punishment for now. After all, I did find ways to make trouble anyways."**

"You were actually _trying_ to make trouble."

"Details, details. **I'll see you later. Don't have too much fun without me!"** Skywarp was gone with a flash of purple and a VOP.

Skyfire continued to giggle a little, curling into Thundercracker and fighting recharge. Thundercracker frowned lightly at the sight. He checked Skyfire's energy levels, but those came back fine. Then he checked the local time. If the Autobots had kept him on the local schedule, they'd be putting him in recharge soon. Plus Thundercrakcer could vaguely recall something about Sparklings needing frequent defrag time.

" **I guess it's time for recharge then."**

" **Not tired."**

" **No? Well maybe I'm tired."**

Skyfire seemed to think on that for several moments.

"… **I guess I can keep you company while you recharge."**

Thundercracker smiled, laying down on the berth with Skyfire on top of him. He really wasn't tired, but he didn't mind lying there while Skyfire recharged. He listened to the sound of small systems and tried not to think about how the only sparklings produced by either side in millennia had been vector sigma granted soldiers.

" **TC?"**

He onlined his optics to meet a solemn bright blue.

" **My caretaker bonds are missing."**

Thundercracker offlined his optics again. Their sire had offlined relatively early in the war, and while their carrier had lasted much longer, he had eventually fallen as well.

" **They're very far away right now. So far that they can't come back. Caretaker bonds are naturally weak, and the distance dissipated the bonds."**

" **I don't remember them leaving."**

" **You don't remember a lot at the moment."**

" **Oh."** As weak as their sibling bond was, Thundercracker still felt Skyfire burrow into it as far as he could; tension leaving his frame that Thundercracker hadn't even realized was there in the first place.

"… **Is that why you and 'Warp are in big frames?"**

" **Yeah, among other reasons."**

" **How come I'm not in a big frame?"**

" **I don't know."**

Skyfire shifted on top of him restlessly. It had been so long since he'd thought about their caretakers. Thundercracker didn't really want to think about everything they'd lost.

" **TC?"**

Thundercracker wrapped himself around Skyfire both physically and over the bond.

" **It's recharge time."**

" **One more question!"**

More like one more series of questions. **"What?"**

" **Um…"**

"… **Well?"**

" **I had lots and I'm trying to choose! Ok, um… Who was the other mech? The little, pretty, angry one."**

Thundercracker sniggered a little bit at that. **"His name is Starscream."**

" **I have a bond with him too. It's different than and feels way deeper than ours, but he's keeping me out."**

He did not want to be the one to explain mate bonding to Skyfire. **"You said one question."**

" **That was a statement!"**

Thundercracker debated not explaining the bond, but could envision too many scenarios where Skyfire asked Starscream what it was that would not go over well; in public or in private.

" **At one point in time, the two of you loved each other very much. So much, that the two of you formed a bond; as a promise to always be together and a way to keep that promise."**

" **But… If we promised to always be together, why was I in the other, far away building instead of here?"**

"… **Because all four of us made mistakes at the worst possible moments."**

It was obvious that Skyfire didn't understand the explanation, but he settled down; likely sensing that he was upsetting Thundercracker.

Skyfire eventually fell into recharge, but Thundercracker stayed online, listening to the quiet sounds of a first frame's systems and trying not to think about anything. He didn't think about their caretakers, or the lack of sparkling within the last nine million years, or the fact that this war had gone on for just as long with no signs of stopping.

He did let himself think about the fact that Skyfire had been gone for those same nine million years. About how he'd reacted to the war in the arctic, how he would have reacted if he'd made it home from the expedition. With the bond open it was hard not to. The bond had been cut off and blocked for so long it was raw and weak. But raw and weak meant that it was still there.

"You would have joined the Decepticons if you'd been there. You would have held out as a neutral for as long as you could, but you would have joined us. You probably would have become a medic. You should have become a medic. We should have tried to convince Megatron you weren't fit for battle. If Skywarp and I had intervened when we had the chance, or at least made sure you knew we were there instead of hiding, you may have stopped to think about why all three of us joined instead of believing Starscream had changed that much. Starscream shouldn't have tried to make you _execute_ a bunch of mechs that to you were just strangers. It's not that 'they've done no wrong' it's that you didn't know everything they've done."

The quarters rang with silence after he'd finished his rant and Skyfire was no longer recharging. Concern emanated in gentle waves as Skyfire listened without understanding.

" **Sorry Sky, go back to recharge."**

" **You wanna talk about it?"**

" **I think I just did."**

Skyfire laid there a moment in frustration. **"But I don't know what you said. And I can't help if I don't know what's wrong!"**

Skyfire always had been adamant about cheering them up and fixing anything that was wrong. Thundercracker absently stroked Skyfire's wings, already getting lost in thoughts of the past again.

" **I missed you."**

 **A/N: The past month and a half have been very sad for me. I feel like it's obvious when it gets to the part of the chapter that was recently written because it gets all bittersweet and then possibly a little sad instead of the extreme fluff that part was supposed to be. But, the bittersweet/sad could just be me projecting and either way I actually like how it turned out. As always, I hope you enjoyed it!**


End file.
